As I sit at my computer in the East Tennessean production room preparing to start our last production of the year, I cannot help but wonder where the time has gone. It feels like it was just yesterday I was sitting in this exact same spot, ready to go 1.5 hours early, anxiously waiting for my team to arrive for my first ever production.

It is crazy to think that the school year is coming to an end, and what a crazy year it has been. When I first interviewed for the position of executive editor last April, everyone knew COVID-19 would not go away quickly, but I did not realize just how long the pandemic and its effects would last.

Trabalha manning a recruitment table in early 2020. (Contributed by Kate Trabalka/East Tennessean)

There were so many things I wanted to do and ideas I wanted to implement that just were not possible due to this year’s circumstances. For a long time, this made me feel like I was not doing enough. However, despite all of the things we were not able to accomplish because of COVID-19, there were so many things we did accomplish despite the challenges of the pandemic.

Although there were less people on campus, we were still able to print once a week and published lots of online content in addition to our print stories. Despite staff shortages and a cut-down production schedule, ET continued to keep ETSU students, faculty and staff informed, and we told stories that needed to be told, no matter what. 

This was a big year for news. We covered social justice issues, marches and controversies, a spring like no other for athletics, the opening of the University Commons and the ever-unfolding challenges of the pandemic. We highlighted the successes of students and remembered the legacies of late faculty and staff. We also followed the university’ COVID-19 response, keeping campus informed about the stages of reopening, COVID-19 testing sites, the campus quarantine experience and vaccination sites.

The East Tennessean and the Student Media Center were also able to safely and successfully host an election night watch party and an SGA debate, and I am proud of what we were able to accomplish during such a challenging time.

Trabalka hard at work during ET production. (Contributed by Kate Trabalka/East Tennessean)

As I depart from what has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my college career – and my life – the East Tennessean’s next executive editor, Allison Winters, is preparing to take the reins. She has been a loyal ET staff member working as an arts and entertainment writer for the past two years. I could not imagine a more capable and qualified person to step into this position. 

Allison is a talented writers, photographer and overall journalist. She is bright, passionate, driven, organized, creative, resourceful and possesses a wide variety of skills and experience that set her apart from so many others. But most importantly, she believes in good, honest journalism, and she wants to make sure that students voices are heard and their stories are told. I so look forward to seeing the amazing work she and the rest of the staff do next year.

The ET has given me so much over the past two years, including amazing relationships. As both a writer and editor, I formed some of the most genuine, everlasting friendships. I have also gained incredible mentors, such as Don Armstrong, whose endless kindness and wisdom I will take with me wherever I go, and Trish Caughran, whose joy and compassion always bring a smile to my face. As executive editor, I was blessed with the greatest production team. Thank you Jarrett, Emilee, Becky and Taylor for all of the laughter, Beatles songs and memories. I would not have wanted to take this long and winding road with anyone else.

  • East Tennessean Production team, right to left: Becky Parsons, Emilee Storie, Kate Trabalka, Jarrett McGill.
  • Right to left: Kate Trabalka, Trish Caughran, office manager for the student media center, and Don Armstrong, director of the student media center and East Tennessean Advisor.

Lastly, the ET has given me the real-world journalism experience necessary to be successful in the field. As I look forward to starting graduate school in the fall at the Missouri School of Journalism, I am comforted in knowing that I have been well-prepared. I would not be where I am or going where I am going without the East Tennessean, and for that, I will forever be grateful. 

There is so much more I could say about my time as executive editor, but to sum it up – I feel incredibly humbled. The experience went by so quickly, and it is weird to think this chapter of my life is coming to a close when it feels like it had barely started. 

This was certainly the craziest of years, but it was worth every second.